Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[OSAH racing]

Beautiful photos

[mike.bmw]

When project threads collide...

I took a day off from work to unwind, which involved taking my M3 and 318is out for some photos. With a single driver (me) it involved driving to the location, walking home to get the other car, and so on. Let's just say it's just what I needed and I definitely got my steps in!

Inspired, I wrote something for BimmerLife about classic BMWs and classic BBS wheels https://bimmerlife.com/2025/02/11/classic-fitment/

20250207-DSC_5988 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250207-DSC_5939 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250207-DSC_5893 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250207-DSC_5853 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20250207-DSC_5871 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Round one of this week's E30 projects: replacing the thermostat. Again.

The entire cooling system was replaced in March 2017 after I determined the thermostat was stuck open. The same symptoms surfaced a few weeks ago---heat not hot, coolant temp gauge never hitting the mark. So, as everything else was in good shape, I opted to just replace the thermostat this time.

It took me about 3 hours, with most of that time spent carefully cleaning the mating surfaces, and then about 20 minutes to bleed the system.

Avery and I took it on a test drive to one of her after-school activities. No leaks! Yet.

PXL_20250304_181713106~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_182530732~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_182850591 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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PXL_20250304_191803620 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_201617184 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_202031898 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_202649478 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_210435755 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250304_224340970 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[iXBeater]

You're bringing your spawn up right!

[mike.bmw]

Celebrating 9 years with my 1991 318is this month! Time for another state inspection...

PXL_20250302_155913698~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250302_160937340~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

No rust, but I do need to do some cleaning underneath!

PXL_20250302_161140011~2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

The reverse lights stopped working. Oops! Good thing I passed inspection the other day. ;-)

After checking the bulbs and fuses, I narrowed it down to the reverse light switch. I also ordered the wiring, but didn't end up using it. The switch was a simple 10-minute replacement, with most of the time spent "hydrating" and getting the car in the air.

PXL_20250305_194159022 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250305_195039952 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

PXL_20250305_194347179 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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PXL_20250305_200506433 by mike.bevels, on Flickr